Expectations
by crazyplotthot
Summary: Cedric Diggory learns that romance and Cho Chang, are not as simple as he thought. Through trials and errors, he pursues what's most important to him: victory for Hufflepuff and the girl he's been captivated by•RoR and TGS Oneshot• For Arianna Waters


**Expectations**

 **.x.X.x.**

 _~CrazyPlotQueen~_

There she was, Cedric thought with a swell of excitement in his gut. Dark, raven hair tumbled over her shoulders like a waterfall, complementing her alabaster pale skin, while her almond shaped eyes watched the lesson being presented intently. Cho Chang was captivating to watch in classes, she consumed all the knowledge presented to her so greedily, always wanting more. Average was never good enough for the Ravenclaw student, and that intrigued Cedric. Most girls settled for convenience, never wanting to exceed expectations.

Not Cho. She always exceeded expectations, no matter how hard the task. Cedric was intrigued.

"Staring again, Cedric?" A boy leaned over from his seat to whisper at the teen, mischief sparkling in his eyes. He had watched Cedric admire Cho from afar many classes, but this class seemed more intense. The fellow Hufflepuff knew that Cedric was considering making his move today.

"Maybe," Cedric chuckled lowly, his dark eyes flicking to the floor in slight embarrassment. He'd been putting off asking Cho out for weeks now, waiting for the perfect moment to catch and woo her. Of course, whether they actually went out was up to her, but he wanted to make sure he had the best chance possible of her accepting.

"You know she'll say yes. You just have to… Wow her," His friend shrugged, offering his friend as much advice as he could.

"Wow her," Cedric repeated quietly, mulling over how exactly to go about amazing Cho Chang. When the professor of his Charms class requested a volunteer to perform the spell they'd been studying, he knew he had his chance. The boy's hand shot up immediately, startling the teacher, but he was selected for the task.

Cedric ignored snickers and murmurs in the classroom as he marched to the front, producing his wand from the sleeve of his robe, then turned abruptly to face the other students. He cleared his throat, glanced once at the words on the board, and gave the class a confident smirk.

" _Mediocris clauduntur lumina lumen!"_

At first, nothing happened. It was almost as if the wand had decided to stop working. Then, a bright light filled the room, that eventually separated into glowing orbs.

They were fairy lights, except with magic as the power source. They floated close to the students in his class, the teens reaching out, eyes filled with wonder, trying to grasp and hold the orbs of light. As soon as the tips of their fingers met there magic, the light turned a glorious molten gold. The spell popped like a bubble, making the others laugh and clap with amusement.

Cedric took a bow at their applause, his eyes darting to Cho. She clapped slowly, an amused grin on her face. She didn't look 'wow-ed'. A frown creased on his face as he walked back to his seat, a flurry of questions floating around in his head. Was she impressed, or did she just not appear to be so? Had Cedric really done well? Did she think his spell was one a basic wizard could do? He craved her attention at the moment, almost willing the bell to ring so he could get the chance to talk to her.

"Nice job, Diggory. Even the Professor was impressed with you, it'd be impossible for Cho to ignore that," His friend encouraged him, trying to ease the boy's thoughts. Although Cedric was thankful his friend was attempting to help, he wasn't really doing the best job. The Quidditch player's mind was still stuck on that girl across the room.

When the bell rang, Cho gracefully stood up, collecting her books in one fluid movement, and strutted out of the room, leaving Cedric scrambling to catch up and push past the other students filing out of the classroom.

Once he finally exited, the boy craned his neck above the stream of students, trying to catch a glimpse of where his target dashed off to, but couldn't seem to find her. Reluctantly, Cedric attempted to salvage his hopes by promising himself he'd find her later and trudged down the hall in discontentment.

 **.x.X.x.**

"Hey, you're that seeker for Ravenclaw. Cho, right? My name's- no, no." Cedric mumbled to himself, planning out his introduction to the student as he licked his hand, then tried to comb his rather messy hair back into something sleek and attractive. Sure, it was gross, but it was effective. Of all days to find Cho, it had to be the day when he didn't brush his hair.

The boy noticed Cho beginning to part from her friends, offering them a wave and a pearly smile that illuminated her face as she began to walk back across the courtyard of Hogwarts.

Now was his chance, the teen thought, and before he knew it, he was striding across the dewy grass and straight towards her.

"Cho!" Cedric said hurriedly, giving her a friendly wave. Be charming, he told himself.

"Hello… Cedric, right?" She arched a brow.

His gut dropped. She wasn't even sure of his name? That didn't bode well for him.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm in your Charms class!" He prompted, rocking back on his heels out of anxiety.

"Oh, that's right! You were the boy who cast that charm in class today." She guessed, a slow smile creeping onto her face as she remembered the glittering lights he created.

"Right! That was me," Cedric glowed from her recognition. "So...what'd you think?"

Cho's dark eyes flicked downwards, and the smile on her face faltered in glow. "It was good, well done," She said quickly.

Cedric wasn't convinced that was what she meant. He recalled her unimpressed look from the class, and his smile fell as well. "You didn't like it, did you?"

"No, no. The spell was beautiful, Cedric, it's just...basic," She said the word carefully like she wasn't sure if that was what she really meant.

"Oh." He mentally kicked himself. Of course, she wouldn't be impressed by it, she was _Cho Chang._ The most complicated spells were trivial for her, the hardest school subjects were a breeze. And that was what made her absolutely stunning. Instead of being put off by this downturn, Cedric was even more determined to seem worthy in her eyes. He liked her too much and had fantasized about kissing those perfect pink lips too much to give up now.

It was time for Plan B, Cedric joked to himself.

"So, did you hear about the Tutshill Tornados' win yesterday? They creamed the Kestrels," He changed the subject. Cedric had been observing her for a while, and always picked up on how she seemed to lean to that team when it came to Quidditch. Cho had a scarf, knitted in their colors, that she wore every time they played.

"I did hear about that, I'm a diehard fan of the Tornados," She commented, arching a perfect brow. "Though, I didn't know _you_ liked them."

Truth be told, he didn't. He was just faking it until he made it. Cedric needed to find a common topic they could connect on, and he knew she adored Quidditch.

"Oh, yeah. I'm a _huge_ fan-"

"Cho!"

A girl's shrill voice echoed across the courtyard, and he turned his head to find another student, decked out in Quidditch gear.

"We have practice, remember? We have a big game against the Hufflepuffs tomorrow!" The girl huffed, grabbing Cho by the arm and beginning to drag her away. Finally, she noticed Cedric, silent and unmoving.

"Oh hello, Cedric!" The Ravenclaw student beamed to him, fixing her hair a little. Cedric knew he was a bit of a lady's man, but he wasn't looking for this girl's attention. He was looking for Cho's.

"Sorry, Cedric. I wish I could stay, but…" She gave him a helpless shrug as the student pulled her away.

He let out a short sigh, watching as the object of his affections disappeared inside Hogwarts. He felt that destiny was somehow working against him, keeping her away. This was a challenge, he knew, and he had to complete it. Though, the girl's words echoed through his mind.

Ravenclaw was playing Hufflepuff tomorrow! Cho would be playing against Cedric, seeker to seeker!

Now was his chance, he thought with a grin, then scampered off to get ready for the game.

 **.x.X.x.**

Cedric weaved in and out, dodging players as they zipped through the air on their brooms, focusing on the main game. It was a tight game between Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, and he knew that the only was his House was going to win was if he caught the Golden Snitch.

But there was one big obstacle in the way of that: Cho Chang, the Ravenclaw Seeker.

She was brilliant. A dark horse zooming through the pale, shadowy sky as she chased after the golden object that gleamed gold when the slightest bit of sunshine hit it. Her dark hair was tied back and out of her way, and sometimes, that was all Cedric could use to distinguish her from everyone else.

He was doing his best to keep up with Cho, but that girl was a wild thing when success was in sight.

"Merlin…" Cedric breathed as he watched Cho almost nab the Snitch out of the air. "She's fast!"

Speed was Cho's strength, so maybe, he'd just have to slow her down…

Cedric began to race after Cho as the Snitch weaved between the support columns of the stadium, gritting his teeth as he barely made a tight turn.

"Hello, Diggory," Cho chuckled breathlessly, her keen eyes glued to the golden shine of the Snitch ahead. She was almost scary when she was chasing what she wanted, the girl was determined to let nothing stand in the way. Not even the laws of gravity themselves. "Trying to put up a fight, I see. Well, just let me handle this last bit, and this game will be over before you know it."

Cedric gritted his teeth, unwilling to give up the win so easily. Sure, he wanted to be nice and gentlemanly to her, and allow her to take the victory, but would that be fair to his team? No. Cedric refused to let his romance get in the way of supporting his team.

And so, when the next sharp aerial turn came about, he leaned in with his fingertips outstretched to try and grab it. Unfortunately, his shoulder clipped the edge of a wooden column, and he lost his balance, tumbling off his broom.

Cho desperately reached out her dainty hand to grab him, managing only his fingertips before he slipped down, pulling them both onto the grass.

He let out a small groan from the landing, making sure everything was still okay, but peeked back up at his crush.

"Are you okay, Cedric?" She asked, her face surprisingly impassive for the fall they just had.

"Y-Yes. I'm terribly sorry. I had no idea…" He trailed off, frustration leaking through his voice. Once, just once, he wished to have some luck with her. "I messed up your game, and I'm sorry."

"The game's still going on. We've got plenty of time to get back to chasing that thing," Cho assured him, but noticed his bothered expression. Did he truly believe he messed it up for her, she wondered. "Listen, this is part of the game. The ups, downs, and in-betweens. Take it as it is. You're resilient. It's why I like you."

And with that, Cho leaned forward and brushed her lips over his. It was like all the puzzle pieces fitted together, everything made sense. This was what success tasted like.

"You've never stopped trying. I admire that. Tenacity isn't something that most possess, and I'd have to be a fool to pass that up," She cracked a warm grin, as sweet as honey. It was a windy, chilly day outside, but she was making him melt.

Then, as the Golden Snitch whizzed past them, he finally remembered. "We have a game to finish."

"That we do." Cho summoned her broom with a whistle, and hopped back on, waiting for him. "Will you kiss me back when I win?"

Cedric paused, giving her a mischievous grin. "I'll kiss you back regardless." And as he jumped on his broom, he finally understood why she was so captivating. She truly was a one of a kind person, and Cedric was no fool to let her slip away.

 **.x.X.x.**

 _The Golden Snitch {Vela, Aurora}_

 _{Fairy Day} Tinkerbell. Write about a character who craves attention_

 _{Through the Universe} 143. Quasar (word) twinkle_

 _{I Want to be Brazillionaire} 3. (color) molten gold_

 _{Dreamcatcher} 4. Hoop- write a fic about a known quidditch player_

 _Room of Requirement:_

 _{Broaden your Horizons: Romance Stories} Favorite Pairing_

 _{Wand's Wood} Ash: Write about a Hufflepuff_

 _{Ultimate Hogwarts Competition} 35. Cho Chang/Cedric Diggory_


End file.
